ISU’s First Female Graduate in Mechanical Engineering: Florence Kimball

Graduation is a special time at Iowa State.  It is a time to celebrate our recent graduates’ accomplishments and remember those of our alumni.  Today, we honor the first female mechanical engineering graduate at Iowa State, Florence Kimball Stoufer. 

Florence Lottie Kimball was born in 1885 to Jessie Atkinson Kimball (1860-1929) and Charles Kimball (1859-1946) in Anamosa, Iowa. In 1904, following her junior year of high school, Florence pursued a mechanical engineering degree at Iowa State, where she was active on campus in various student organizations. She played both left and right guard on the women’s varsity hockey team, was a member of the Cliolian Literary Society, a class officer, a reporter and society editor for the Iowa State Student (now the Iowa State Daily), and a member of the Bomb Board as a junior. She was also a member of S.S., which became the Sigma Sigma chapter of the Kappa Delta sorority, serving as Kappa Delta’s first president. In June of 1908, Florence became the first woman to graduate from Iowa State College with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree.

Florence Kimball Stoufer pictured in her yearbook which includes her notes about classmates for class reunions. Draped on the corner of the yearbook is a 1908 class armband used during the 1908 class reunion in 1953. Kimball and Stoufer family papers RS 21/7/329, unprocessed. Special Collections and University Archives, Iowa State University Library, Ames, Iowa.

In 1911, Florence married Donald B. “D.B.” Stoufer, a fellow mechanical engineering graduate from Iowa State.  He went on to work in the Kimball family business, Kimball Elevator Co., while Florence managed the business’s real estate holdings.  The couple maintained ties with Iowa State through the attendance of their three children, Richard, William (ME ’38), and Lucy Beall (HEC ’46), and multiple grandchildren.  They also were involved with the Omaha-Council Bluffs chapter of the ISU Alumni Association.  In 1977, Florence passed away at the age of 91.  Two years later, her family honored her through the Florence Kimball Stoufer Recognition Award, which was granted to women in mechanical engineering to honor their achievements at Iowa State between 1978 and 2001.

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  Image of D.B. Stoufer (left), daughter Lucy Beall Stoufer (middle), and Florence Kimball Stoufer (right) visiting Iowa State College in the Fall of 1942. Kimball and Stoufer family papers RS 21/7/329, unprocessed. Special Collections and University Archives, Iowa State University Library, Ames, Iowa.

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  Program for the Florence Kimball Stoufer Recognition Award, undated. Iowa State University. Alumni and Former Student Subject Files RS 21/7/1. Special Collections and University Archives, Iowa State University Library, Ames, Iowa.

Through the generosity of her family, Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) recently acquired her records, along with those of her family members.  Portions of Florence’s educational journey are documented in her papers through her notes and marginalia in textbooks, while her campus life is visible through things like programs to campus plays. However, most prevalent throughout the collection are materials documenting the Stoufers’ lives as alumni through correspondence with classmates, organizing class reunions, and their active participation in the Omaha-Council Bluffs chapter of the ISU Alumni Association.

[Photo of Botany Notebook]

^{Pages from Florence Kimball’s notany notebook, undated. Kimball and Stoufer family papers RS 21/7/329, unprocessed. Special Collections and University Archives, Iowa State University Library, Ames, Iowa.}

Letter from William J. Scherle to Florence Stoufer, June 15, 1973. Kimball and Stoufer family papers RS 21/7/329, unprocessed. Special Collections and University Archives, Iowa State University Library, Ames, Iowa.

Stay tuned for more stories about the Kimball and Stoufer families, with generations of Iowa Staters spanning 1886 through 2022! 

National Exercise Day

Physical education and kinesiology (exercise sciences) have long been an important part of the Iowa State education. Today we celebrate that tradition with some snapshots of exercise activities on campus over the years.

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  Tennis 1908, University Photographs, box 800

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  Swimming 1927, University Photographs, box 800

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  Swimming, no date, University Photographs, box 800

Feel free to walk, skip, run, bike, however you choose to move, over to the reading room on the 4th floor of Parks Library to see our collections in person!

Agriculture Experiment Station

Crossed Seedlings, University Photos box 529, folder 4. No date.

March is the anniversary of the creation of the Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station at Iowa State. The Experiment Station was founded as a result of legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 1887. Known as the Hatch Act, the legislation provided for the funding of agricultural research at Land Grant Colleges. In February of 1888, the Iowa General Assembly approved the terms of the Hatch Act and the Iowa Experiment Station was established. Administrative oversight of the Experiment Station was assigned to the Board of Trustees of the Iowa Agricultural College (Iowa State University). The Board, in turn, elected Captain R. P. Speer as the first director of the Experiment Station.

1889 Catalog

1889 Catalog

Experiment Station-Analysis of foods, University Photos box 536. No date

The work of the Experiment Station included improving and experimenting with various crops. The Station was equipped with (among other things) experimental orchards, fields, and farms. Farmers across the state were invited to contact the Station for help with their crops and domestic animals.

136 years after it opened, the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station is still doing its important work.

The Experiment Station is not a building or location. It is a program of research that is supported in part with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the State of Iowa. At Iowa State University, these public investments support research aimed at solving our state’s most pressing concerns in the areas of food safety, food security, natural resource stewardship, and the economic health of Iowa communities.

IA Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station homepage

The Experiment Station regularly produced Bulletins to disseminate their information and research. Many of these can be read in the Digital Repository. Many more Bulletins can be accessed by visiting the Special Collections and University Archives reading room.

Remembering the Green Gander

The other day, whilst wandering around the stacks, I stumbled upon collections of the Green Gander. Being an editor of Iowa State’s literary journal, Sketch, and admiring collaborative magazines and works such as Trend, I was intrigued and had to scope out the printed publications for myself!  

In case you need a refresher, the Green Gander was a campus humor magazine, complete with ads, anecdotes, comics, and more. This previous blog post provides more information about the history of the magazine: Campus Humor-The Green Gander 

Cover of Green Gander Vol. 37 No. 3, RS 22/6/0/4, Box 3, Folder 4

The specific issue pictured above was published during the spring semester of 1953, exactly 70 years ago, and features an enticing short piece of fiction titled “The Love Life of a Space Cadet,” which chronicles an alien named Krzcl and his trouble with love. Small cartoon aliens provide visuals for the story.  

 

Figure 2 and 3: Cartoons featured in Vol. 37 No. 3

The Green Gander published quarterly each school year, oftentimes releasing issues for Fall, Christmas, Veishea, and more.  

In a Valentine’s-themed print from February of 1951, the magazine includes jokes and advertisements tailored to “all things romance.” This particular cover below features a photograph of a woman displayed inside an outline of a heart appearing to be in the middle of a very real nap, with her eyes closed, hair splayed perfectly out in waves, and her makeup flawless while a cut-out of a baby’s face looks up at her in awe. This same baby sporting different facial expressions can be found throughout the magazine, always placed next to pictures of stunning ladies from around campus. 

 

Cover for Vol. 35 No.3, RS 22/6/0/4, Box 3, Folder 2

It should be noted that the issues discussed in this post were published prior to the magazine’s makeover in 1959-60, which took place after complaints piled up regarding its unprofessional nature and “suggestive” humor. Publication ceased in 1960 but copies of these magazines remain here in SCUA. Should you decide to come check them out in our reading room (we’re located on the fourth floor of Parks library!) you’ll see that some of the material included in these issues are not necessarily up to today’s standards of what would be deemed “appropriate” and are a stark contrast to what students at the university publish today. Reader discretion is encouraged. 

Feel free to check out some of ISU’s current publications on Instagram!

• Sketch Literary Journal: @sketchlitjournal
• Trend Magazine: @trendmag_
• Iowa State Daily: @iowastatedaily
• Cardinal Eats Magazine: @cardinaleatsmag

New State Fair Exhibit

Iowa State University has a long, historical relationship with the Iowa State Fair. Iowa State has presented exhibits at the fair for different colleges, supported 4H in their endeavors, and had Extension present to help teach the community about new technology like electricity (see photo below).

University Photos, RS 16/1/E, Box 1328, Folder 6.
 1937

To celebrate this long relationship, we have a new exhibit on the 1st floor of Parks Library. The exhibit features photos of the “Butter Cow lady”, Norma Lyon, an alumna of Iowa State, 4H artifacts, general fair artifacts, and some of the earliest pictures we have from the State Fair in 1915.

Feel free to stop by whenever the library is open!

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Gallery Images:

• Iowa State University exhibit at Fair, 2011. University Marketing Photos.
• 4H Fair Program, 1948. Verneil Branstad Papers, RS 16/3/4/51, Box 1, Folder 6.
• Iowa State Fair souvenir program, 1948. Verneil Branstad papers,  RS 16/3/4/51, Box 1, Folder 7.
• Physical Education exhibit, 1930. University Photos, RS 16/1/E, Box 1328, Folder 5.
• Campanile model. University Photos, RS 16/1/E, Box 1329, Folder 6.
• Norma Lyon sculpting butter cow. No date. Norma Lyon Papers, RS 21/7/280, Box 1, Folder 14.

The Athletic Fields of ISC

ISC-Iowa Football Game 1907, University Photographs, RS 24/6/G.

Long before Jack Trice Stadium, Cap Trimm Field, Forker Tennis Courts, and the Cyclones Sports Complex, Iowa State hosted its inter-collegiate sports on what were known as the “Athletic Fields.” These fields were home to the baseball team, football team, track and field team, and tennis team.

Organized athletics on the Iowa Agricultural College campus started in Fall of 1882 with the creation of the Gymnasium Association in the hopes of establishing a regular exercise program for students. In May of 1884, a Base Ball Association was established to coordinate games between classes, town clubs, and rival colleges, and was championed to the young men of the campus for its “lusty and vigorous exercise.” By 1888 sports were becoming more of an interest at the college, and there was a call in the student newspaper Aurora for the development of an outdoor sports program with the thought that inter-collegiate games would foster even more interest. In the fall of 1889 a “field day” was arranged by Professor of Military Science Captain J. R. Lincoln and Professor of History and English Literature A. C. Burrows devoted to all matter of athletic sports.

The following April, the College joined fifteen other Iowa colleges to form the Iowa Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association with the purpose of an annual state field day. The increased interest in sports meant that a need for athletic grounds at the college was becoming evident. Land was set aside for “Athletic Grounds” to the west of the Main Building that would feature a circular track for distance events bisected by a straight line track for sprint and hurdle events. These grounds would be short lived as events in 1892 would lead to the call for more space.

1891 Map of College Grounds, Iowa State University. Facilities, Planning, and Management records, [RS 4/8/0/7].

In March 1892 the College joined the State University (University of Iowa), Grinnell College, and Drake University to form the Iowa Intercollegiate Baseball Association, marking the beginning of varsity baseball at Iowa Agricultural College. The following fall saw the creation of the first varsity football team at IAC. Additional space was needed for these new varsity sports, and expansion of the Athletic Grounds was hampered by its location in proximity to a railroad spur. During the September 1892 Board of Trustees meeting the Board approved the assigning of “…a strip of ground north of the railroad as far as the orchard fence” to the Athletic Association for Athletic Grounds. This eight acres of land was north of the previous Athletic Grounds and to the west and northwest of Morrill Hall. The Board would also appropriate $200 in December 1892 to aid in the fitting up of the grounds, and in May 1893 authorized President Beardshear to use portions of the Public Ground Fund for improving the Athletic Grounds and to use the Farm and Horticulture teams for the same purpose when not interfering with the work of the departments. A house and barn was located on this tract of land and the College spent $643.30 to purchase, repair, and move both structures. Due to financial constraints, work on the track was delayed, and it wouldn’t be until May 1894 that it would be completed. That same spring the College joined eight other Iowa colleges in the formation of the Iowa Inter-Collegiate Tennis Association, formalizing tennis as a varsity sport after it had grown in popularity on campus.

This new Athletic Grounds would feature a baseball diamond, football field, 1/3 mile track, and 4 dirt tennis courts. The baseball diamond was located in the northwest corner of the grounds, the tennis courts at the southwest corner, the football field occupied the eastern portion, and the whole area was ringed by the track. Field sports like pole vault, shot put, and hammer throw were located on the southeastern portion of the grounds.

Athletic Fields c. 1910, University Photographs, [RS 4/8/I], Box 223.

Additional improvements were not made to the grounds until 1900. At this time the grounds were fenced in and bleachers were added. This allowed the the Athletic Association to begin producing revenue at sporting events. The grounds would eventually become to be known as State Field.

Men’s Track Running Hurdles c. 1895, University Photographs [RS 24/11/G], Box 1954

Baseball Game 1913, University Photographs [RS 24/4/G], Box 1787

Football Game on Athletic Field c. 1900, University Photographs, [RS 4/8/I], Box 223.

Men’s Track Running Hurdles c. 1910, University Photographs [RS 24/11/G], Box 1948.

Within a few years relocating the field was already being discussed as recorded in the Biennial Report of the College for 1903-1905:

“The development of the College has been such as to necessitate the early removal of the athletic grounds from their present location near Engineering Hall to the Southwest corner of the campus. Quite extensive grading will be necessary to put the grounds in shape.”

The athletic fields wouldn’t be moved until 1914, a year after the completion of State Gymnasium. Baseball, football and track would have a new home just south of State Gymnasium at “New State Field,” and eventually talking the name “State Field.” The football field would be named in honor of its from head coach (1906-1919) and athletic director, Clyde Williams, in 1938. Tennis courts would be created just across West Street (now Union Drive) to the north of State Gymnasium.

Information for this post was gleaned from a number of sources including: maps from Facilities, Planning and Management records [RS 4/8/0/7], Iowa Board of Regents Minutes [RS 1/8], University Photograph Collection, Aurora [LD2541.8 A97x], Biennial Report of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts [LD2531 Io9r], and The Iowa State University Campus and its Building [LD2543 I6 D39x].

Collection Highlight: RS 21/7/288 Slyvia Flogstad Student Life Scrapbook

Now that spring is hopefully around the corner and the academic year is slowly wrapping up, it’s fun to look back at past student experiences. One of my favorite collections is RS 21/7/288 Sylvia Flogstad Student Life Scrapbook. I processed this collection in 2020 and enjoyed how it provided a glimpse into the female undergraduate student experience in 1918.

Below is a selection of photographs from the scrapbook.

To learn more about these materials, visit the finding aid or contact archives staff. 

George A. Jackson Black Cultural Center Exhibit Talk

This upcoming weekend is the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NHPC) alumni reunion weekend.

Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) staff invites you to participate in two exciting opportunities during and after the NPHC Reunion on Saturday, April 2:

An exhibit that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the George A. Jackson Black Cultural Center is available to view on the 4^th floor of Parks Library. Greg Bailey, University Archivist, will be on hand from 10 a.m. – 1.p.m. Saturday to give attendees a tour guided tour of the exhibit and answer questions about the exhibit and University Archives operations, including how alumni can help preserve ISU history. Original materials related to the Center and Black student organizations will also be on display.

One of the exhibition windows for the George A. Jackon Black Cultural Center Exhibition on the 4th floor of the Parks Library.

An oral history project is underway in an effort to document ISU student life. Alumni may sign up to schedule an interview and share their ISU experiences, whether in attendance at the reunion or not. In addition, alumni are encouraged to explore other recent projects, that document student life, including HBCU Connections, COVID Stories, Voices in Color, and Tracing Race at ISU.

More from University Archivist, Greg Bailey, about Saturday’s exhibit talk.

University Archivist, Greg Bailey

Why is SCUA hosting an exhibit talk for the NPHC Alumni Reunion and Plaza Ribbon Cutting Celebration?

Community Engagement Specialist, Susan Gent, had brought this together as she had heard there was interest in the history of the Black Cultural Center, and knew SCUA had an exhibit on display, from some of the folks that were attending the NPHC Memorial Dedication weekend. We figured this would be a great way to share the exhibit and network with alumni from the Black fraternities and sororities at ISU. These alumni are folks we are hoping to make a connection with as we work to be more inclusive in our holdings. 

What kinds of materials will be on display in 403 Parks? 

We will have original materials also on display from the Black Cultural Center records, Black Student Organization and Black Student Alliance records, and material from the NPHC fraternities and sororities.

Slainte!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Iowa State community! This holiday has a historically special place in Iowa State’s early traditions. Starting in 1910, the engineering students held a celebration that included a parade that led them to downtown Ames (see picture below). In later years, the day also became an open house for engineering. In 1922, this celebration, along with several others, were wrapped together to become the VEISHEA celebration.

St. Patrick’s Day parade down Main Street, 1911.

There are several other blog posts you can explore to learn more about this tradition.

• Past St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations!
• St. Patrick’s Day at ISU 100 Years Ago
• Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Our Attitude, Our Future: Iowa State’s 1983 Black History Month

Black History Month 1983 in the 1984 issue of BOMB, available here

How has Black History Month been celebrated at Iowa State in the past?

Taking a look in the 1984 issue of Iowa State’s yearbook Bomb, we can see how ISU students 39 years ago (1983) celebrated this month.

“Black Americans are major contributors to historic and contemporary life. From politics to art, from psychiatry to archaeology, from history and literature to modern theater, this composite of experiences which defines us as black people also defines us as a nation. Because we wish to deepen our own appreciation of ourselves, and because we need to share our rich culture and heritage with the world.”

Debra Gibson, coordinator for ISU’s 1983 Black History Month

Debra Gibson cited this for choosing the theme “Our Attitude, Our Future”. This motto stood as a banner for a host of lectures, art, and contests to celebrate Black History Month, featuring over 1,000 participating students. Previously a single week of activities, ISU’s 1983 celebration expanded to a month of events, featuring even a lecturer from Harvard Medical School, who spoke on “The Psyche of Racist Culture”.

Iowa State’s newly expanded Black History Month culminated in a performance of Lorraine Hansberry’s autobiographical play “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”. This marked the first Black theater production at Iowa State.

Expanding Black History Month in 1983 stands as an important moment in Iowa State University’s cultural history, as we collectively grow in “Our Attitude, Our Future”.